khal3a خلعة
Algerian Darja · noun
“khal3a” (خلعة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning fear, fright.
Meanings
- fear, fright
- scary thing, horror
Usage
Khal3a refers to sudden fear, a fright, more often than lasting anxiety. People say "kla khal3a" (he got a big fright, literally "he ate a fright") or "dar khal3a" (he scared people). Used in apposition, the word also describes what is scary: "film khal3a", "qissa khal3a" (a scary story). It is related to the verb khla3 (to frighten): "khla3tni" means "you scared me". The register is colloquial and common, very present among young people and on social media.
Example
الفيلم هذا فيه خلعة كبيرة
had el film fih khal3a kbira
“This film is really scary.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khal3a” but also “khalaa” and “5al3a”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent; 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “khal3a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “fear, fright”; “panic, alarm”: khel3a in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “fear, sudden fright”; “ugly or scary person (slang)”: 5al3a in Tunisian.